General info

When the worlds were born, 72 demons were created alongside all other life. The demons were given the power to create minions of other life forms, but they were all trapped in one world, unable to leave it. For several millennia they co-existed, fought wars with each other and attempted to leave the world they had been condemned to. They were capable of virtually everything but leaving.

In the very beginning their world was lush and green, full of life, but in their fight for power and survival they destroyed all that was good. And in the end all that remained was rocks, sand and darkness. Death and carnage ruled in this world that later came to be known as the ‘Hell Realm’.

In time, their world opened up and gave them a chance to leave, but by that time only half of them were left. The ones that were the strongest, most cunning and the wisest remained. From the very beginning all the demons had been different, both in appearance and character. Some had survived by creating armies of tens of thousands of soldiers, others had found themselves allies, and the rest had survived in solidarity.

Once the time came that they were able to leave and explore the other worlds, they made a pact; they would go their separate ways and never repeat what they had done to their world.

And so, the remaining demons left the ruined world, leaving it for good. They all hoped it would recover, and in their absence begin anew. But even today, if one was to accidentally enter the Hell Realm, all one would find was dark emptiness as far as the eye sees.

Demons

All demons of every world are born from the survivals of the original 72 demons that left the Hell Realm. However, this does not mean that all demons have a bloodline connection to the originals, as they had the power to create other demons from other life forces.

Only a handful of the originals procreated with other being (humans/animals), and the rest just created. Among the demons, there are those that are considered the most pure; the actual descendants of the originals. And among those, the most highly regarded of them all are the ones that have as little human blood in them as possible.

The bloodline defines the lifespan and skills of each demon in existence. There are those that are less powerful, closely resembling humans, and others that have skills that have raised them to an almost god-like position.

An-Khan

The demons Foras and Agares entered this world together in alliance. The world was just what they had been looking for: primitive. They wanted to shape its history and make something great of the world. They named it the An-Khan and began the improvement process.

>However, what Agares and Foras began, was not continued by their creations after they came to the end of their lifespan. The demons left behind, wanted power and obedience. They enslaved the weaker beings (including humans) and began building their kingdom. Everyone not worthy was thrown out and left on their own. This resulted in the forming of several clans and one power greater than any other. In time, the descendants of the eldest created demons established a power called the ‘Elders’.

The Elders still rule all of An-Khan and all its clans, both human and demon. However, they have forgotten most of what was before, and their wisdom is fading. Still, they believe they are in the right and continue to reign over their world. They deny the existence of anything other than their dimension, in the fear that their subjects would revolt if they knew that better places existed. Anything not in their books is not permitted and every clan must obey the rules they have been given. Law-breaking is punishable by ‘banishment’ which, they believe, is a death sentence.

To those that are not born in An-Khan, this world is dead. The elders only look to the past, and thus, the world is slowly but surely headed towards death.

The Hunter Clan

Count Marax, of the original demons, left the Hell Realm and travelled through countless of worlds without finding one he could call his own. He was on the move for hundreds of years until he finally found companions and a place to call home. He was not interested in ruling, but he was not happy with how some of the others used their power in other worlds. Still, he did nothing about it as he valued wisdom and his own life. Staying away from the other original’s way was what had kept him alive.

Marax was one of the rare originals to procreate as he did not want to create minions. He left behind several children before his time was out, and his descendants shared his world views. In time, they began a society known as the ‘Hunter Clan’. The purpose of this clan was to preserve the balance of the worlds. In other words, they became the sole power to watch and rule over as many dimensions as possible. However, they did not intervene in any world’s politics, laws or the like. Their only purpose was to monitor the movements of demons.

The Hunter Clan has since grown in power and numbers, and has allies in most worlds. They still attempt to keep the balance, and grant & deny demons the right to travel worlds. To control demons, the Clan has Hunters to exterminate those that cross dimensional borders without permission. The Hunters used to all be direct descendants of Count Marax, but as his bloodline has tainted and nearly died off, they have begun allowing other demons to join –just as long as they share their cause and have the skills required of a hunter.

The Hunter Clan is a secret organization and only the eldest of demons and those of high of power know of its existence. To everyone else a Hunter is someone to be feared. It’s ancient, strong, fast and merciless. It’s often described as a being with horns and cloven feet, but nobody that has ever seen it as survived to confirm the tale.

Other worlds

All the worlds began at the same time; however they all developed at a different pace and in different ways. Humans ended up becoming the main power of many, but there are worlds in which humans became extinct before they could evolve, and that took a completely different turn. Once the demons were released from the Hell Realm, many of the budding civilizations were ruined and taken over by them, leading to yet different types of developments.

Everything that has happened since the beginning has resulted in countless different worlds that all differ from each other in some way.

Shapeshifters

There are three different kinds of shapeshifters in the worlds. Each type has a different set of skills and traits, as well as weaknesses. Though, it is not said that a shifter has to be one type alone.

Magical shifters use magics to physically alter their form. The level of their transformation, as well as the duration, greatly relies on the creature’s magical strength and capabilities. If their strength runs out or they pass out, they revert back to their original form. The exception being a magical shift coming from an outside source, although the same rule applies here as well: if the source of the power runs out, the shift stops. With magical shifting the only limit is the user’s skill, power and their imagination.
There are many levels to these shifters. Some can only change parts of their body for appearances, while others can shift into a completely new form. However, magical shifting does not give the user the skills of the creature they turn into, for example: if a demon turns itself into a wolf, it won’t be able to communicate with other wolves unless it already has that skill.

Cursed shifters change form without their own will. At some point in their life they come in contact with something or somebody that triggers their transformation for the first time. It may be a physical infection (such as a bite) or a magical curse. The conditions and the duration of their shift is dependent on the nature of the curse; some may someday be cured of their condition while others will live with it for the rest of their lives. Some shifts are time related while others are triggered by physical or mental stimuli.
Regardless of the nature of the curse, these creatures rarely learn to control themselves when they shift. For some it is too much and they end their life, while others may not even realize what is happening to them. However, in rare cases the cursed shifter learns to live with and make the most of their condition.

Skill shifters (morphers) are a differend breed of shifters altogether. These creatures do not just take another form; they become it. Only a handful of demons are born with this skill and even fewer learn to use it properly.
Morphers are not limited by a magical source or a curse of any kind; their skill comes from within. And this skill allows them to physically change their form, either partially or fully, into another. With every transformation, they gain the skills, traits and strength of the creature they turn into (though they lose these skills when they shift back). The downside of this is that if the shifter is not skilled enough to control the transformation, they may lose themselves into the new form. If this happens, they will be forever lost as only the shifter itself can force back the transformation. However, with the skill to protect their self, a morpher will be able to change into a completely different creature, with a different personality, in any way they please. The more this is done, the more dangerous it becomes; it is not rare for a shifter to forget who they were.
The most skilled morphers can do several partial transformations at the same time while still retaining their own person. This allows them to gain more strength and skill than any creature could with training alone. For this reason morphers are both feared and respected.

There are also creatures that can choose to appear in a form different from their own: blenders. They’re not shifters, but can easily be mistaken for them. These creatures have only one true form but usually, for survival purposes, appear as another to blend in. Creatures like these normally only appear as their true form, one camouflage form and stages between these two, but sometimes they can appear in several different forms even at the same time. However, whatever the form a blender chooses to appear in does not change its skills or strength –or even their physical body; this is what separates these creatures from shifters. Blenders only fool others by distorting their senses to fit a certain image. If another creature possesses the right kind of sight, they can see through the appearance into the true form of a blender.